All the Truth I Can Stand

October 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Author Stokes says that his novel is best thought of as speculative historical fiction. The historical aspect is the Matthew Shepard story. In 1998, Shepard, then 21 and gay, was brutally beaten and left to die tied to a fence post in a Wyoming field. The novel incorporates many of the real-life facts of Shepard's life and death. The speculative aspect involves the creation of a 17-year-old boy Ash, who meets and falls in love with Shane, the Matthew Shepard character. Another fictional character, Jenna, an aspiring journalist, introduces the two, and Ash is elated when Shane returns his feelings. However, the more he knows about Shane, the more Ash realizes he doesn't really know the boy, who, it turns out, is involved in the meth trade--a scourge on the local community. When Shane is murdered, � la Shepard, Ash and Jenna set out to investigate the previously hidden aspects of Shane's life. Stokes has done an excellent job of incorporating real life into his fictional narrative. The result is bound to be controversial, however. Be aware.

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October 1, 2024
A boy in his senior year of high school experiences first love and bitter heartbreak in this work inspired by the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. Seventeen-year-old Ash meets Shane while volunteering as a theater tech for a production ofOklahoma! at a local college. He's immediately drawn to 19-year-old Shane's enigmatic and alluring personality--and Shane appears to be showing a similar interest in him. At first, Shane's friend Jenna, who's writing an article on the meth trade in their town of Juniper, Wyoming, for the college newspaper, tries to set the boys up. She tells Ash that he's nicer than Shane's previous boyfriends. But Jenna later backtracks, warning Ash against dating Shane and explaining that he's "a mess" who's "carrying around a lot of damage." It turns out that Shane has been known to disappear for a few days, worrying and enraging Ash and Jenna, who have lost their mom and brother, respectively. But Shane's most recent disappearance isn't like the others, and the tragedy that follows leads Ash and Jenna to ask questions they might not want answered. Even though the prologue signals that tragedy lies ahead, the novel doesn't feel predictable--instead, it carries an eerie sense of dread. Ash's closeness to Shane carefully brings Shane's story into vivid focus without conveying a feeling that Ash is speaking for him. The central cast reads white. A tender fictionalization that sheds light on human complexity. (author's note, note on sources)(Historical fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from September 9, 2024
Stokes reimagines the murder of Matthew Shepard in this speculative historical novel, an auspicious debut. In 1990s Wyoming, 17-year-old Ash is instantly infatuated with 19-year-old Shane, who Ash first sees playing Curly in a production of Oklahoma! Upon meeting at a cast party, sparks ignite, and Shane’s friend Jenna encourages their blossoming relationship. Though the boys start spending more time together, Shane remains cautious about romantic entanglements; Ash laments this and prods Shane into treating him less like a “little brother.” When he learns that Shane has a history of engaging in substance use, including methamphetamines, Ash’s father warns him to stay away from Shane. But as Shane begins exhibiting odd behaviors, Ash and Jenna grow increasingly concerned. Then Shane is assaulted and tied to a fence. His subsequent death is declared a hate crime, and as Ash and Jenna investigate, they learn some uncomfortable truths. Keen prose meditates on the nature of violence fueled by bigotry and its effects, making for a layered and provocative telling that will encourage readers to critically examine their own behaviors and perceptions. An author’s note concludes. Ages 14–up.

December 30, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Stokes reimagines the tragic death of Matthew Shepard, whose brutal murder in 1998 elevated hate crime legislation to national awareness. Seventeen-year-old Ash is struck by attraction at first sight when he sees Shane, 19, the star of the Oklahoma! production where Ash is on the tech crew. Still grieving the death of his mom, Ash has struggled to connect with people, but finds himself bonding with aspiring journalist Jenna and, with her nudging, Shane. As their relationship grows closer, Ash grapples with Shane's apprehension for romance, his occasional disappearances, and his history of drug use. It all comes to a head when Shane is viciously beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die. The uproar is enormous, igniting not just their community, but the whole nation as they paint Shane as the perfect victim. Stokes's writing pulls no punches as he touches on the difficulties of grieving a real person when the media is determined to smooth away their sharper edges. Ash and Jenna's investigation takes them into the drug dealing underworld, emphasizing how drugs and the AIDS epidemic affected the gay community. The novel is very grounded in its historical moment; Stokes's characters emphasize how connections build identity and the different ways people are vulnerable. Cast is cued white. VERDICT A heartbreaking historical story about grief, legacy, and the complexities of being human. Recommended for general purchase.-Emmy Neal

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